A good thing about KiwiSaver

I had lunch yesterday with three of my staff at Curia. Two of them are at university and one has just graduated.

Over lunch we got onto KiwiSaver, and all three of them started talking about which KiwiSaver Fund they are with, how much they have earned, what the rate of return has been, and how they aim to use it to help get their first house mortgage.

Now one can debate KiwiSaver at the macroeconomic level – about whether there should be employer subsidies and Government subsidies.

But what struck me, was the difference it has made at an individual level. I can’t imagine before KiwiSaver, three young women (who still have massive student debt) would be talking about their investments, who is getting the best rate of return etc. Developing that culture of savings and investment literacy at an early age is possibly KiwiSaver’s greatest claim to fame.

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Comments (10)

Johnboy

When you are at the other end of the equation like me and my wife it is a pretty good scheme as well. We joined day one as although the asshole Cullen represented everything I hate about socialism a wise man never looks a gift horse in the mouth.
All my life I have never received a brass razoo off the government by way of benefit except for the very generous $3 a week (raised to $6 in the latter stages) child allowance for our two children many years ago. So after both of us paying a shit load of tax all our lives to help keep the phools of this world gainfully employed slaving over their keyboards I thought why not us.

We now have covered the cost of burying us in style (to save the kids the trauma of trying to get the cheapist funeral) and everything else is a bonus.

So thank you Micky Cullen for the one useful deed you did in your whole useless career in parliament but as for everything else you are still a slimy little turd as far as I am concerned.

s.russell

Good point, DPF. While the Govt expenditure on KiwiSaver is questionable value for taxpayers’ money, it has gotten a lot of people saving who otherwise wouldn’t have, and it has given many many people an interest in and growing understanding of investment. I hope this will help change the Kiwi cultural mindset that the only good investment is buying houses.

Matt Long

Compared with investing in things that would make the economy grow Super Funds don’t stack up too well.

I guess if you are a Labour voter, (Or National currently.) the only choices you have are blowing it on consumer crap now or saving it till later to blow on consumer crap, so maybe blowing it later is better for the economy.

Viking2

Well ad their kiwisaver subsidy to their uni subsidy and free loans and then wonder why people like Hickey are saying that their generation and NZ will go under water at about 2035.
No doubt they will also be beneficiaries of their parents when they leave this mortal coil.
Advice to all parents, spend it before you get buried. Live long enough to be burden to your kids.
And that of course is why you see the bumper sticker on the motor home that says; “Spending my kids inheritance.”

Kimble

Talking about who is getting the best rate of return? I can just imagine what would happen then. The other two will change to that fund. And so would begin the inevitable cycle of regret and disappointment.

Unless… by some miracle were these kids comparing their funds returns to the goals stated by the manager? Or against an appropriate benchmark? Both these things are more useful than just comparing headline returns. But even if they did, even the maximum two years performance history is not long enough to draw many statistically significant conclusions about a managers skill or competence.

And Matt Long, you are clueless. What do you think savings are for if not for later expenditure? Actually forget it, your entire comment was too retarded to be real. Just fuck off in any case.

stephen

VT

I agree with Peter2715626 and Kimble.

DPF — why KiwiSaver is a bad policy doesn’t seem to wash with you, and you’re already supposed to be at the upper end of informed, intelligent voters. No wonder so many people vote for bad economic policies.

Matt Long

Wow Kimble with so many Financial Geniuses like yourself no wonder NZ in in such good shape, I scrape and bow to your incredable wisdom.
Borrow Spend, earn spend, save spend, that ‘s how to do it.
Screw those clueless rich people who invest in real assets in our country so that they and we have sustainable income.